Sliding door or shutter



I (No Model.)

E. H, WALTON. SLIDING DOOR 0R SHUTTER.

'Patentzed Deo. 18, 1883.

Smmw trating my invention.

' IlNrrEn STATES @PATENT OFFICE.

ELIAS H. VALTON, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

sLlDAlNG `noon R SHUI-TER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of 'Letters Patent No. 290,373, dated December 1e, i883.

Application led March 8, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, ELIAS H. WALTON, of the city of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sliding Doors or Shutters and Mechanism for Operating Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is generally applicable to a movable diaphragm or partition closing an opening in a building, and it is especially applicable to warehouse and factory doors, shutters, 85o.; and its object is to provide means for automatically closing such doors and shutters without the use of weights, and also to provide means for holding` the door or shutter open until released by human agency, and which will permit the door or shutter to close vautomatically in case of a lire occurring on either side of the door or shutter opening, thus closing the opening and preventing the the ingress or egress of the flame.

For the purposes of illustration, I will proceed to describe my invention in connection with a door or shutter closing an aperture in a building.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevation of a door and of devices applied thereto illus- Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the wall, showing the edge of the door and its supporting mechanism,which is shown in elevation in Fig. l. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 represent the catch for holding the door open and permitting it to close automatically; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the left-hand portion of the door, having been taken immediately below the line X X of Fig. 1.

A is the door or shutter,which may be constructed of any desired material and in any desired manner. It is, however, preferably made of lire-proof materials, and so constructed as to be fire-proof. Y Y

Above the door is an inclined iron bar or way, B, secured to the wall or other suitable support, the end portion a, which is over the door-opening, being lower than the end portion b, which latter extends along the wall beyond and to one side of the opening X, which is to constitute the door or window ventilatorhole, &c., and which opening is to be closed by said door or shutter A. In Fig. l

of the drawings4 this opening X is covered by the said door or shutter A, Abeing a door or shutter or diaphragm of suitable shape, as the case may be. For convenience of description I will denominate it as a door.

To the upper end of the door A are secured suitable hangers-as, for instance, the yokes C C-in the upper end of each of which is a roller, c t,'which rollers, when the door is in position, rest upon the upper edge of the inclined bar B. The yoke C isso adjusted in relation to the yoke C that when the rollers are in position on the inclined bar the door will hang in a vertical position. The bar B is farther above the door at the edge to which the yoke C is connected than at the edge to which the yoke C is connected. When it is desired to open the door, the latter is moved toward the right, Fig. l, and as it is so moved the rollers c run up the inclined bar B, and as soon as the operator releases his hold of the door its own weight causes it to close, the rollers a running down the incline of the bar B.

Any desired means may be provided for stopping the vdoor when it has covered or closed the opening X.

the opening X as provided with au extended housing, B', against which the edge y of the door strikes when the door is closed. If desired, this housing B may be provided with a In the drawings I have shown the edge of ilange to overlap the edge ofthe door when closed, to prevent it from moving away from the face ofthe wall. If desired, the vupper end of the bar B may be provided with a stop, d', against which the roller c of the yoke C may strike to prevent the door from being opened too far. By having the door suspended fromthis inclined plane B, said door acts as its own weight to cause it to close.

The preferred form of roller to be employed is that shown in the drawings, the yoke in which it is journaled being provided with sides of the bar Bwhen the rollers are in position on said bar. These studs keep the rollccnstructions may be employed. For example, the periphery of the roller may be pro'- vided with a channel, which will engage with studs b below the roller and opposite to the.

ers in position on the upper edge of the bar B. Instead of this construction, however, other IOO the upper edge of the bar B, and thus retain the rollers in position on said inclined plane B.

It is desirable to provide means for holding the door or shutter open, and it is also desira ble that such means shall permit the door or shutter to automatically close in the event of a fire breaking out, and the means which I employ are those shown in the drawings.

To thc wall or other suitable support, and preferably above the door, and a little to one side of the opening, is secured one end of a bracket, D, the lower end of which extends downward to a point preferably even with or below the top ofthe opening X, and to the lower end of this bracket is pivoted one end of a pawl-lever, D, the other end of which extends from the side of said bracket to a point preferably in front of the opening X. The lower end of the bracket D, below the end of the lever D', is provided with a stoplug, c, on which the lever rests, preventing its free end from dropping too far. rlhe free end ofthe lever D is provided with a catch or dog, E, which is secured to said lever by soft solder or cement, which will melt at a low temperature-that is, a telnperature a little above the ordinary temperature of the room. rIhe downwardly extending portion of the bracket D, when located as shown,is far enough away from the wall to permit the door to pass between it and the wall, as shown in Fig. 2.

To the yoke C, at the front edge of the door, is secured an arm, E', which, when the door is opened, (for illustration see Fig. 2 and dotted lines of Fig. 1,) engages with the dog E, lifting the end of the lever Duntil the arm passes under the dog, when the latter and the end of the lever D drop, and, the dog being in front of arm E', the door cannot close.

In order to make a solid connection between the lever D' and the dog E at ordinary temperature, I preferably make the connection as illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4.

In one side of the end of the lever D' is formed a recess, F, which is somewhat wider than the dog E. One side of the upper end of this dog Eis cut away, forming a shoulder, f', which, when the dog is in position in the recess F, rests against the bottom ofthe lever and assists to prevent lateral displacement of the dog until the solder is melted. The end f of the dog E is placed in the recess F, resting against the side g of said recess, and preferably one or more holes, g', are bored through said end f and through the end of the lever D. Otherholes, 71 are bored through the side of the recess beyond the' edge of the dog E. The purpose of these is to afford an additional purchase or hold to the solder in holding the dog and levertogcther. rIhe side m of the dog is preferably beveled, as shown, and the inner side, n, of liange :z of the lever D is' also beveled, so that when the dog E is applied in the recess F of lever D the flange g shall overlap, as it were, the beveled edgem of dog E, (see Fig. 5,) and in connection with the solder or cement hold the dog more firmly to the lever D. Soft solder or cement is then poured into the recess F, completely filling that portion of the recess which is not filled by the end f of the dog E, and is also poured through the openings g and h, and when this solder or cement has hardened the dog E is held firmly in the recess F, and at ordinary temperature is perfectly solid, so that when the door is opened and the arm E engages with the dog the door or shutter will be held open.

For convenience in disengaging the dog or catch from the door or its arm E, one end of the rod H is connectedtothelever D, the other end of said rod extending downwardly to be within reach of the person desiring to close the door or shutter, and by lifting on the rod II the lever D is lifted, and the dog E is thus freed from the arm E', and the weight of the door causes the rollers c to run down the inclined plane B, and the door is thus closed. Then the door is open and held in this position by the dog E, the latter and the end of the lever D, to which it is connected, willbe (when the arm D is located as shown) in front of the opening, near the top thereof, andin the event of a lire breaking out on either side of the opening the heated air will pass through the opening, the hottest air being at the top, which will thus come in contact with the soft solder or cement, which will be melted thereby, and the connection between the lever D and the dog E will be severed and the dog will drop, and the door thus released will automatically close, entirely closing the opening.

In order that the recess F in the lever D' may be quite narrow, and the dog may yet be able to turn in the said recess when the solder or cement connecting it to said lever is melted, I form the endf of the dog of an inclined or curved form. Thus the recess F can be made quite narrow, and the dog, when unsoldered or disconnected from the lever, be free to drop out of the recess and allow the door to close. Thereby all danger ofthe end ofthe dog catching and sticking in the recess and holding back the door after heat has melted the cement or solder is obviated. Vhen desired, the catch E may engage the door directly, the device being modified to enable such engagement to be practically efficient. The door may, when desired, rest and slide or roll upon an inclined plane beneath it.

Various substances may be employed for securing the dog E to the lever D', and I do not confine myself to the employment of any one of them, the purpose being to employ a substance which will melt at a suitably low temperature.

Vhile the various features of my invention, as above described, are preferably employed in connection with each other, certain ones of such features may be advantageously employed independently of others, and one or more of such features may be employed, so far as applicable, in connection with doors or shutters IOO IIO

of other descriptions from that herein specifically set forth.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A sliding door or shutter suspended from and capable of sliding on a bar or Way above' said door, and adapted to be closed automatically, in combination with a latch-lever, D', connected to a stationary support, said latchlever having a catch, as E, connected thereto by means of soft solder or cement capable of being melted at a 10W temperature, the catch being arranged to engage with the door or an arm or projection thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. rlhe lever D', provided with recess F, in combination with the catch or dog E, secured in said recess by means of soft solder or cement G, capable of being melted at a low tempera-` ture of heat, substantially as and for the purposes specified. 3. The latch-lever D', provided with recess F and holes g h, in combination with the catch or dog` E, having holes g', coinciding With the holes g' in the latch-lever, said catch being secured in said recess by means of soft solder or cement, substantially as and for the purposes specied.

4. The combination of latch-lever D', having beveled lange g, and dog E, having beveled side resting in the fiange g, operating as the side of a dovetail, in connection with the solder or cement, to hold the dog securely in place till said solder or cement is melted, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5l! The combination of dog E, having beveled side m and hole or holes g', and lever D', having beveled iange y and hole or holes g', substantially as and for the purposes specified.

6. The combination of lever D', provided with recess F, and dog E, provided with curved end f, substantially as and for the purposes speciied.

7. In combination with a door, A, running on an inclined Way or Ways, a catch held in place by a solder or cement which shall not melt at an ordinary temperature, but will quickly melt When exposedto a greater heat, for enabling the door, when opened, to be held open t'ill the catch is disengaged by human agency or by the action of heat, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

ELIAS H. WALTON.

Witnesses:

J. WM. STREHLI, MILTON HILL. 

